


The Court Of Cruelty

by Janime



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Angst, BAMF Naruto, Character Growth, Dystopian, Emperor - Freeform, Fluff, Humor, M/M, OC! Sai, Oblivious Naruto, Possesive!Sasuke, Romance, Royal Court, Secrets, Slow Burn, prince - Freeform, royal au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-13
Updated: 2019-09-28
Packaged: 2020-10-17 10:11:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20619317
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Janime/pseuds/Janime
Summary: The court has decided. The Emperor and Prince must choose who will be their bride, everyone is a choice. Because of that, so is Naruto.Simply a peasant trying to live his life, Naruto Uzumaki is a key piece in the game the court chose. But if the games rules are changed, what happens then?Ps. I forgot the password to my other account, Andercles, but I wanted to finish this work...all in all, I did not steal this work!





	1. Chapter 1

The sun peaked over the trees and fell upon golden locks. The wind rustled the leaves blew across the sleeping face, and the sound of hooves pounded into the dirt. A horn blew waking up the fallen figure.  
_________________________________

Naruto was not pleased. The tree whose roots he was laying on, dug deep and mercilessly into his now aching back. He glanced at his surroundings and was pleased to find that, even though it had been the middle of the night, he had chosen well. He was in a clearing awhile back when hunting many years ago. He shook his head to disperse the cloud of drowsiness inside him. The horn had startled him, bringing him from the tendrils of sleep. The sound of horses was getting closer, which meant the empire. No one else in this part of the kingdom could afford such a luxury.

The empire originally had not been associated with corrupt and cruel people, but with the new reign of the Uchiha brothers, the term "emperor" or "empire", had an unfathomable ring. It wasn't necessarily their fault, it was the fault of their dead parents who, in their last days put his trust in the wrong people. Thus leaving the two brother with corrupt advisors, spies, and traitors surrounding them at all times.

Naruto eyes shot up to see an over weight noble with his select henchmen, in a tight circle around him. The noble cleared his throat and looked down in disdain at the unsightly peasant infront of him. The boy was around 17 with wild blond locks and dull blue eyes that in the past, may have sparkled. His build was muscled from the labor peasants have to uphold to live, and dirt was present everywhere. The noble started the declaration he had presented to so many others before this one, and began in the same dull tone.

"The royal court of the empire sent out an order twenty eight days from present that any peasant, noble, or..." the man paused in disgust almost choking on his large mustache, "other, from the ages of fifteen to twenty five, shall attend a royal courting session with the prince and or emperor. Once the selection has..." the man paused once again, seemingly too mortified to continue, "thinned out; you shall rise in ranks to earn their favors. As nobles of the courts, we have been sent out to make sure that no one escapes the eyes of monarchy and cannot try to deceive and or trick the courts. We will be escorting you to the village where you will be put with others your age and then sent to the palace."

After the balding nobles speech had finished, Naruto shook his blond hair in utter confusion. All the monarchy had to do was lift a finger and every women in the village would cater to their every whim. Not all of them, but many were in need of food and supplies, they would do anything to receive those necessities. Why would they suddenly need to revisit every young adult and teen?

The noble coughed uncomfortably before he lost his balance and re-centered himself in his horse. "If it is not clear already, Peasant, you will come with us, orders of the emperor. Lee, take this man on your horse with you back to the main village."

"Hey, wait a second! Let's get this cleared up, how did you even find me here? I can't be that important to track down."

The man looked down in disdain. "Why would we try to find you? Simply, I'm afraid that you happened to be in our way going back to Konoha, from Sauna. The orders from the emperor are in fact orders from the emperor, and I do what I must."

The man named Lee wore a bright green spandex jumpsuit and sported a thick bowl cut. He looked around Naruto's age if not a little older. "Come my youthful friend! We shall journey together to the village."

Naruto stood up feeling his aching joints scream in discomfort as he located the branch that had probably murdered his will to live overnight. He was forcefully walked to the saddle the exuberant man sat upon. He lifted his leg over the horse and swung on. He grabbed a hold of the mans waist in front of him. Something in the way the man talked told him that this trip would be exhausting. He sighed and turned to look at the tree he had been previously sleeping on. The grass was flat in the shape of his frame and a pale yellow from lack of sun.

Defying a noble could give them cause to execute you on the spot. Naruto didn't need that added to his list of misdemeanors. Traveling to the sand village could wait until he was told he was not fit for whatever the emperor "required" him for. He would have to write to Konohamaru saying he would be a few weeks late. Lee suddenly spurred the horse to full speed, making it go almost as fast as his mouth, and Narutos head was whipped in front of him. This would be a long few days.  
__________________________

The days had indeed been long, with Lee's constant drone about the pros of being "youthful", and the noble keeping a constant watch on him. He felt trapped, like a mime, stuck in an invisible box, never to be saved.

When the village came into view, it was a wonderful to hear the higher pitched voices of excited women, and the hushed and weary tones of their male counterparts, those who didn't sound like Lee that is. They passed trough the busy marketplace where young women and boys were being loaded into carts to be taken to the empire, inspected, and chosen. The noble in front of Lee's horse came to a sudden halt, causing Lee's horse panic, throwing Naruto from the saddle. He ungracefully landed on a dark haired girl with a pale complexion. He stood up quickly and held his hand out to the girl he landed on.

"I'm so sorry, are you going to be alright? The girl whipped her head around so fast that her hair became a cloud around her blushing face.

"U-um I'll b-be fine." The girl stammered in a voice so soft he could barely hear it over the goings on in the busy market.

"Can I help you then? I feel so awful for doing that. Although to be perfectly honest, it wasn't my fault." She giggled quietly, her eyes lighting up just a little. He grinned at her before saying, "My name is Naruto, like the fish cake," he paused thoughtfully," but don't associate me with that." The quiet girl giggled again in response to his fully serious condition.

"M-my name I-is Hinata. Pleased to m-meet you Naruto-kun." The girl mumbled out. Naruto proceeded to take the shy girls hand in his own. The girl was once again taken over by a fiery red covering her face and ears.

"Well Hinata, I have to ask, are you also here for the emperor's orders? The choosing Lee called it." The shy girls head ducked in embarrassment. "Well so am I; I hope we get to know each other better!" He ended his quick pep talk with a smile and a kiss to the back of her palm before darting off to find Lee and the other riders. He looked around frantically before spotting Lee's bright green jumpsuit. In his haste to get to the exuberant man, he tripped over another dark haired person.

The person he tripped over was practically towering over him at about six foot. The cloaked hood that he had been wearing had fallen from his face, in the place of shadows now shone perfection.The man's onyx eyes seemed to pierce his own. His hair was styled in a way that screamed originality, not the good kind though, in someways it reminded him of a ducks butt. The way it kind of went up and out. The man arched one eyebrow as he turned to look at the person who tripped over him.

Naruto looked back at the man in awe. The man was the definition of perfection. He was pale and obviously well muscled. The dark eyes he possessed complemented perfectly his hair and cloak. He dusted himself off as though As though Naruto was simply dust that had wound up on his shoulder. As a crowd wove around them, many stopped to stare at the man. The man looked down on the boy who had just embarrassed himself.

"Dobe." Naruto looked up in disbelief at what he heard. What right have that man to call him an idiot?

"Teme, at least I don't stop walking in the middle of a busy street!" The man simply glared at him and turned away in the direction of where he came from. Naruto stood up and brushed the newly acquired dust and gravel off his already dirty clothes.

"Teme."

A church bell rung signaling that it was time for the consorts to finish saying goodbye and get in their designated carts. The one Naruto was assigned to a cart whose peak of its life had been a wheel barrel. It had plain wood patterns and lacked any paint, unlike those of the other consorts. The empires horses were attached and rearing their heads in anticipation. It was so quick, the snap of the whip and the shriek of the frightened animals. The cart lurched forwards carrying the goods up to the emperors palace.


	2. Chapter 2

The trip lasted close to a day. The air was fresh but tension was making the coldness of the breeze send an unwanted chill down Naruto's spine. He kept his head down when the imperial guards came to pick their batch up. There were so many people, grey's, blues , and blacks littered the now full courtyard. Naruto was pushed roughly into a tall body behind him. He tripped over a loose cobblestone and fell wildly landing on the strangers feet. As soon as he fell down a pained hiss was heard from above him. Teal eyes were trained on his. A kanji stood out red against his pale complexion, dark lids and flaming hair covered his face. Naruto held in a hiss of his own, the man was towering over him and not helping him up. He stood up, gently dusting off the dirt that had caked onto his traveling clothes. Three times, who gets knocked down that much?

"Hey are you kidding me, what's up with you?" The man stared back at him, uninterested as he turned his head away. Irritated he had not gotten a reaction out of the redhead, he made another retort. 

"Hey, you could at least held me up. " He turned to the group that watched their exchange. "Fine."  
He turned and stalked away to one of the corners of the crowded courtyard. He felt cold and warm all at once, excitement and fear bubbling up at the same time. Naruto glanced quickly at the bickering girls seated two or three feet away.

"No way he'd pick you, Inopig."

"And why would he pick you forehead girl?"   
Their never ending arguments were driving him up the walls. He stood up, brushed himself off, and sauntered off in the way he had come. There was a new commotion now, a shaggy haired teen had a long haired male pinned to the wall. It did not last for long though, the long haired warrior quickly pulled his knee onto the others stomach. The boy crumpled into a ball while his opponent sauntered off in silence.

Naruto rushed up to the defeated teen. Now that he was close he could take in more detail of the man. He had to triangular tattoos on his face. His eyes were wild and he wore a grey furred jacket. Naruto noticed a patch of white fur in his coat but chose not to mention it. He held out his hand to the fallen man.

"Kiba, and this is Akumaru, we work as a team." Naruto blanched for a moment but quickly returned to a pleasant smile.

"Naruto." He held his hand out for the rugged man to shake. Kiba grinned wolfishly before shaking his hand. Their meeting was soon interrupted by the sound of bugles.  
A line of overly dressed musicians came out one by one, carrying their preferred instrument marched into the silent courtyard. It went on for about two minutes, the complicated array of movements and steps. All at once they formed a "v" shape, allowing two men in flowing cloaks, to pass through their ranks. Following them at a distance came many more figures, clad in well tailored clothes and other finery.

Of the two figures in the lead, one had flowing hair, pulled back into a low ponytail. Scars were slashed under his bloody eyes, giving him the look of a warrior who has seen far too much. The man next to him looked similar but; although Naruto could not name it, he seemed familiar, in a way that left a bitter taste in his mouth.  
The two soot at the mouth of the "v", staring at the group with vaguely disguised disinterest. A sheen of sweat covered Naruto's brow the heat of the afternoon engulfing him. As his calloused palms reached up to wipe the sweat from his eyes, the elder looking of the pair turned to one of the musicians.  
His companion's eyes were coming steadily closer to two figures at the front. All too quickly did the coal black eyes of the shorter figures find his within the crowd. In that instant, Naruto placed the man. He was the one whom he had tripped over in the market.

"I've met that man before."

Kiba rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Of course you have, I mean he's one of the reasons we're all here. Naruto frowned at the implications of Kiba's statement; that would mean that the bastard who tripped him in the square, was a Uchiha. He should have known, only Uchihas can be so rude and get away with it like that. His hands turned to fists, fingernails were digging into his palm, a low hiss escaped his mouth, causing his new acquaintance to look at him in concern.

"Hey man, I know this is my first meeting with you but is there a problem?"

"We have to try to get in his good books? It's never going to happen. I mean, look at him, he looks like he's about mass murder the whole place. "

The obviousness of it finally hit him, the good looks, the way people had crowded around the in the town and the way he had looked at Naruto as some piece of gum that he had stepped in and needed to be removed.All eyes turned back to the incoming crowd when the man in front of the trumpets stood on a stone podium at the front of the courtyard. His bushy eyebrows and bowl cut gave the impression he was turtle like, appearing shy; how different he became when he talked. Now that Naruto had a good look at him, he looked exactly like an older version of Lee, the guard.

"May your youth never die as you, the young people of the inner kingdom fight for the love and affection of not only the emperor and prince, but the nobles of the high court as well." He stepped back allowing a man who looked as if any place in the world would make his boredom less prominent. The way his pineapple styled hair rose into the air marveled Naruto, did the man use tree sap to style it that way?

"Kiba, I'm calling it now, no Prince, no Emperor." Kiba turned and slowly nodded.

"The rules will work as such; you will work in a team of five or less, your team has to have one representative who will try to gain the affections of a desired noble. If you wish to gain the desire of the two nobles, you will work alone. For nobles there is no harming other possible choices.  
For prince and emperor contestants, I must say this with a strong emphasis, once the royalty has made his choice, you are not to go against that. Any one who dares hurt the next royal choice will face the wrath of the kingdom.And last, if you are not the representative of your group, you are to help you representative. Find out information about nobles, other groups or find some way to make them less appealing to the noble of your choice.  
You will decide tomorrow night with the four other provinces if you will be in a group, who with, and what choice. Only one representative per group must come and register. Other wise you are free to choose groups. Double grouping is not prohibited, especially with prince candidates. Start finding your friends soon and you just might make it."  
The man turned, stuck his hands in his pockets and lazily sauntered off stage. Bushy eyebrows then stepped up again. "Your choices are as followed in rank. Barron Igarashi Sai, Duke Subaku Kankuro, Duchess Subaku Temari, Duke Hyuuga Neji, Duchess Hyuuga Hinata"; Naruto drones out the next few names. Hinata, the girl in the market who he had slammed into; was royalty? He recalled when he asked her if she would be here. What a twisted way of seeing it, she would be here, sitting safe on her throne. The man with bushy eyebrows pointed to himself," Royal advisor Minato Gai, Royal advisor Nara Shikamaru, and lastly the prince and emperor ; Prince Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Sasuke. Now as my youthful friend Shikamaru said, make friends now and you might make it."  
Naruto was perplexed by the time the two apparent advisors had finished speaking. He turned to Kiba. 

"So Kiba, do you want to pair up with me?" He turned, gave the blond a once over, and nodded his head.

"I don't really have any better options in this place." Naruto's mind played over the faces of the crowd, only few he deemed, would help them with their goal.  
As the crowd strayed to move out of the cramped courtyard, a flash of red hair was visible in the crowds. Naruto grinned, turning to Kiba he proposed his last resort idea. 

"I've got a candidate." Kiba turned, a bit surprised that he had come up with someone they'd have to trust their lives with so quickly. Naruto gave a sharp jab with his head towards the paused redhead. Kiba's reaction was not what he expected, his jaw dropped, eyes widened, and a high whining sound rose from his throat. He turned awestruck at the oblivious blond. His voice had dropped before speaking.

"Do you know who that is,'' Kiba whispered,"that's Subaku no Gaara." Naruto frowned. Subaku, that was the name of the duke and duchess of Sauna. Kiba seemed to understand his hesitation," He was disowned by his father when he was just a child after he killed their mother, but...having him, we might get somewhere."  
By the time their conversation had finished, they were all packed into the dining hall, ready for the feast ahead of them, like cows before slaughter.

The evening had been uneventful, once he and Kiba had lost the redhead in the crowd, they had since been unable to find him. A meal was served to them all of some wild forest animals and a small pile of greens and berries. But the main highlight was that while everyone else was eating in the dining room, he and Kiba had snuck into the kitchens and ate whatever they pleased. "Payback," for their current situation.

The night had been fitful as they had stayed in the kitchens to avoid suspicion after they had spent a little too long eating ramen, leaving Naruto tired and unkempt. Kiba was in a worse state, both he and Akumaru's hair was sticking out at odd angles, Kiba skin was a pale paper white, while his eyes had heavy purple bags under them. TThe wake up call had been the hundreds of murmurs around them, the build up sound had caused Akumaru to let out a yip in annoyance. Breakfast was served soon after, being a plain piece of bread and a small cup of butter. The butlers and maids came around to clean up the mess of hundreds of young adults, leaving the hall bustling and loud.

"Oh, shut up you! I at least have a reason to try to woo the first prince now the emperor, he is not as attractive as the second but, I'm sure an affair would not be beyond my grasp."

"Ha, in your dreams billboard brow, you have not "wooed" anyone as long as your forehead has been around."  
Naruto grunted, the likelihood of either of the two girls earning a Royals favor was incredibly slim, but having an affair with them both? Naruto was in shock that someone could be so greedy.  
Just as he turned around though he was knocked into by a towering figure. The teal eyes and tattooed forehead stood out against the pale complexion. Red hair fell into his eyes that gave off a murderous aura.

"I know you and mutt face need me on your team; so I accept."Naruto was amazed. The guy had the audacity to just show up and say that they needed him.

"No." Though it was slight, it was obvious that the boy was shocked, the slight slackening of his jaw and the widening of his eyes.

"We don't need you." He said, more confidence was laced between his words. He still looked surprised even as he towered over Naruto.

"My name is Gaara." Teal blue eyes continued to bore into Naruto's, after about ten seconds, Naruto leaned over to Kiba.

"Alright, you send your dog to bite him while we run." Kiba turned his head slowly, appalled at the suggestion.

"Do you have any idea who he is?"  
"No?"  
"Naruto, that's Subaku no Gaara, I told you last night who he was, you were te one that pointed him out for goodness sake! We need him, he will be our savior, out fighting chance against any of these people." Kiba looked over to Gaara who, although Naruto and Kiba had whispered, clearly heard the whole conversation. Kiba turned back to Naruto, a pleading look in his eye. "That's it, I'm going to say that we need him and that he is essential to our survival. You cannot argue because it's three to one."  
Naruto looked around, there were clearly only two of them in the conversation, seemingly reading his thoughts Kiba shared the two unnamed persons.

"Gaara and Akumaru want Gaara on our team."

"You can't be serious."

"..."

"Fine, you can come seduce a royal with us. But you are not charming in any way of the word and if I were to say, you'd be a great guard for Kiba."

"Fine, who will be the representative?"

"Kiba." Naruto smirked, he already had it all figured out. "We'll go after Duchess Hinata. She is kind, a little bit twisted, and right up your alley."

"Why do you think she's right up my alley?"

"Because Akumaru is pointing to her on your shoulder." Kiba quickly turned his head to see his loyal mutt whining and pointing his paw to the Duchess's retreating figure.

"Shall we start plan, lover boy?"

By the next night the three had a game plan that could not fail them. They would send Kiba in with Akumaru to get the Duchesses attention, what royal lady could resist a cute dog? Then they would craftily make Kiba become noticed by being boisterous and loud until the Lady noticed him. That's all that they need because after that , who knows what could happen. Having a plan could make them try to save a sinking ship and in the end, drown them. Naruto would be the informant, gathering information and befriending other groups competing for the same noble.  
From what he could tell, the courting group for lady Hinata was very small. Only about twenty people individuals and ten or so groups were gathered in the registration room.  
No one that he recognized, but a few that he thought he could befriend. One such person was a young girl pressed against the wall, with beautiful brown hair that reached her waist and big full eyes. Naruto scanned the room to see if anyone else was looking at the girl. Most everyone's attention seemed to be focused on Gaara, who stood in the corner glaring at everybody.  
Glancing at Kiba, Naruto made his way over to the girl. She glanced up before smiling. She had a beautiful smile, the way her face turned was angelic.  
"So are you here to compete to win the heart of Lady Hinata as well?" The other simply laughed, eyes glinting in the torchlight of the room.

"No, I only wish to get back to where I should be. I should not be here, yet here I am."

"Me too I guess, but this is nicer than anywhere I've ever been, not counting the whole court situation." The girl laughed again and offered a teasing smile.

"So Naruto, do you plan on capturing the attention of Lady Hinata?" He stopped smiling and looked at her wide eyed.

"Do you like," he lowered his voice,"read people's minds?" The girl shrugged his comment off.

"No, it's just hard to miss a name when it's being yelled really loud in an echoey room with very few people in it." Naruto quickly pulled his hands behind his back and grinned sheepishly.

"You heard that huh?"

"Everyone heard that."

"So what's your name then princess?"

The girl laughed and gave him a good once over. "I prefer Prince, but my name is Haku."

"Prince? " Naruto mulled over what Haku was saying until his eyes widened in realization.

"It's alright Naruto, everyone makes the mistake."

"But your prettier than any girl I know," he exclaimed," do you model or something?" Haku looked away, turning toward the corner.

"No, I've dedicated my life to the person that saved me." A silence was pulled from between the two as Haku returned to simply stating at the far wall.

"So Haku, the reason I came here was to ask you to be friends; would you want to be?"

"That would be wonderful Naruto." Haku turned to smile weakly, still caught up in his thoughts to fully comprehend the situation at hand. Naruto glanced around discomfort clearly written on his face.

"Hey-!" Naruto looked around to find the source of the voice and was not too surprised to find that in fact, it was Kiba. His position looked like he had been trying to chat up the duchess, and current position was on the floor with two spears pointed at his throat. Gaara had yet to move, but was tensed up in anticipation. They had talked about this beforehand, Gaara was not to show he was on a team with the two of them. Naruto however, was not under such pressure.

"Kiba!" One of the guards turned to look at him while the other kept his spear at Kibas jugular. "Get off him, what was he doing to you?" The guard glanced up at the duchess who looked about ready to faint.

"My lady, should I kill him?" The duchess shook her head no and blushed bright red.

"No, he was being enjoyable. Please step away from him, he did nothing wrong." The guards moved back into their normal positions on either side of the duchess, their faces stoney again. The duchess quickly looked at Kiba and blushed again, looking around she simply found it too overwhelming and dashed out.  
Naruto held his hand out for Kiba to take. Kiba pulled himself to his feet, and turned to glare at the guards. "All I did was say hi and suddenly I'm on the ground with two spears digging into my neck. "

"Well you certainly caught her attention," Naruto laughed. "I guess it all went according to plan. Did you at least complete out registration?"

"Yeah, what were you doing I've there?" Kiba looked over to the place where Haku had been, but seemed to have disappeared during the commotion.

"Making some friends." He shrugged, "Not much else."

Kiba sighed letting out all the air that had been stuck in his chest from his spectacle. "Anyway, let's go. Gaara is waiting for us in the dining room , after all the games do start tomorrow


	3. Chapter 3

Once again entering the dining hall, the two searched for Gaara near the far wall from the entrance. They found him sitting at the farthest table away from where they had come in, just further proves that he hated most human interaction. As they approached he leaned in cautiously. "Kiba, what did you do?"

"Listen, I did exactly what the plan was. I was loud and flirted with her and suddenly, it's a crime! How is this allowed here?" Gaara turned to look at Naruto, glare still prominent on his face, icy eyes searching his.

"Is he lying? I can't be on a team where there are people who lie to my face and cause trouble." Kiba did not take kindly to the threat that Gaara had insinuated.

"Listen here Sandman, I helped you get in this team, if anything, I should be the one kicking you off." Naruto turned to Kiba, surprised by his rejection of Gaara, for goodness sake.

Suddenly a voice reached their ears, full of mirth and joy. "Oh my, the glorious fruit of our youth, leaving us refreshed, isn't it wonderful?"

"Lee? Why are you here, don't you have some sort of royal guard duty right about now?"

"Well my youthful friend, it would seem that the palace assigns each group a guard, so that no assaults on the main candidates shall happen. And I promise, by the name of my teacher, Guy, I vow to protect you all. " Lee looked at them all, tears ready to fall from his eyes. His eyes fell on Naruto, and then he burst out crying, tears coming down in globs landing on his green jumpsuit and a few of the larger ones landing on his orange leg warmers. Gaara snorted causing Lee to look at him in disbelief. There was a shadow over Lee's face as he turned, ever so slowly to face Gaara. "I'll prove to you in no time that I'm the best guard you'll ever have, I'll stop a hundred assassinations, a thousand lies from reaching your ears and I'll save you from the cold at night when I bring a blanket to you in the dark. I am dedicated, and you choose to laugh at me? I think not." Lees lower lip quivered, face molded into one of contempt and sadness.

A silence had settled over the dining hall, with everyone turning to look at the strange man in the jumpsuit yelling at three fine gentlemen. Naruto turned to Kiba, with a questioning look while sticking his thumb out. He had no idea Lee was so...passionate about saving people.

"Lee, I feel so...," he turned to Kiba for help, but being Kiba, he just looked confused too," safe with you around us now. I hope that you were not too upset by what our companion said, he always kind of had the case of the grumps if you know what I mean." Lee looked at him, his black eyes shimmering with hope and apparent wonder.

"I-I will try, to the best of my abilities," Lee was having a hard time keeping the emotion out of his voice and talking like the soldier he was," to keep you and your group safe, even if they don't think they require my assistance." Lee was pointedly looking at Gaara, but the red head did not seem affected by the threat. Lee turned towards Naruto, he looked just about ready to cry again he clearly had his "strong face" on.

"I also came to inform you that, as of tonight, the Prince and Emperor will come around and greet each of you." The group looked stunned, even Gaara had his eyes widened.

"Seriously? How do they have time for that? Aren't there like two thousand people here, all wanting at least a portion of their attention?" Naruto said putting the whole situation in a new light for everyone, including Lee, who brought the news.

"I guess they are just really generous then?" Lee looked confused as he stared into space deep in thought. "I would think that as youthful as they are they would not want to visit everyone. So it must have been the court who decided. They have full control over those two until next month when Emperor Itachi turns eighteen."

"What does that mean about the marriage, they didn't want it?" Kiba spoke up voicing the thoughts that had gathered around the dining hall as everyone listened to this new information the weird guard brought.

"I should think not, after all the prince in particular seems to want to remain single until the rest of his days. But never mind all that, I must be your protector and valiant friend." Lee looked as if was going to continue until he looked over his shoulder, and hearts seemed to come from his eyes. "Who is that? A maiden so fair in beauty must be a figment of my imagination."  
Naruto turned to look at the girl Lee had pointed out. The girl had pink hair that need about shoulder length and was still arguing with the blonde. "Oh her? Lee that girl thinks that she can get with the prince and the emperor; at the same time. I wouldn't waste my time in her." Lee looked disgruntled but not ready to give up. 

"I'm sure she will change her mind when she meets me, I will convince her that no prince can compare with the love and affection I will shower her with." With that, he left the group dumbfounded and silent. Kiba came over to sit beside Naruto and slowly laid his head on the table. The bewilderment evident on his face.

"We have to deal with more?" Kiba whimpered pathetically, " I'm not sure that I can take anymore." Naruto simply rubbed circles on his back while they continued Kibas much need therapy session.  
Once Kiba had stopped talking about caterpillars stuck to people's faces, they were all able to locate the table where they would be escorted to lady Hinata's suitors dorms.  
They were in the far part of the castle as not many people had decided to court her, many preferring others that could give them power if they got chosen. They guard stopped them at a green door with lilies painted on it. Knocking twice the guard "helped" them into the room before closing it behind them. Gaara looked ready to kill while Kiba just stood at the door surprised.  
A man with chocolate hair and deep brown eyes greeted them from a desk that was positioned on the far side of the room.

"Hello boys, my name is Iruka and I will be your supervisor under lady Hinata. My job is to make sure no violence happens between groups and that the lady is never pressured. If that happens I will personally be the one to move your worthless self out of the palace, lady Hinata is a very important friend to me, if any of you hurt her, be prepared. Otherwise I'll be happy to help you with whatever you need." The man indeed pulled of the mother hen approach while scaring them all, except Gaara, no one scares Gaara.  
They found comfortable beds in the corner while Gaara took a bed near the front of the room as to keep up with the act of, " we are not in a group together".  
Iruka had left to do paper work concerning how all the suitors would be monitored and stuff, it was all a little too much in one day. The bed was comfortable and warm, the perfect conditions to forget about earlier and just...sleep.

Waking up in an actual bed was a rarity for the likes of Naruto. So used to the straw and potato sack mattresses of his village, this made him feel like royalty. Sitting up, he looked around the room he had entered maybe five hours ago. It was a clean as he remembered but there were definitely more than just his little entourage. In the corner, there were about five others sleeping close to each other indicating they were partnered together.  
On the opposite side of the room, a pair of shaggy teens sat at the window not looking at each other, they must have gotten into an early fight. The door creaked open as the young man, Iruka stepped in. His hair in the ponytail was slightly disheveled and his eyes had large bags under them.

"Late night?" He called, Iruka turned with his finger over his lips indicating that while everyone else was sleeping he too should be quiet. "I'm sorry."  
Iruka look exasperated as Naruto had not quieted down in the slightest. The suns rosy fingertips were just reaching the window sill when a hand landed on Naruto's shoulder.  
Gaara's eyes stood out in the dim lighting of the room. He has stood up from his bed and walked over. 

"Now that everyone is asleep, what are we doing?" His question was straight forward, but Naruto was left clueless.  
He knew that the prince and emperor were coming, but no one knew when and lady Hinata was so shy she made herself almost unapproachable.

"We have to consider that Kiba is now under the eyes of the guards." He chose his words carefully, glancing up at Gaara to make him understand the weight behind the words. Now that the guards knew Kiba, they would constantly watch him making Hinata more nervous leaving them with a bad impression. "So for right now, I say we wake Kiba and get food because I don't know about you, but I'm so hungry that not even ten bowls of Raman could satisfy me."

Gaara looked appalled but made no demeaning comments. He turned his head towards Kibas sleeping figure and pinched his nose. Nothing happened for about ten seconds, then all of a sudden, Kiba jerked up eyes wide. He looked ready to yell, when he looked at Naruto frantically. With his fingers to his lips, Naruto signaled that Kiba needed to stay quiet and calm . So Kiba settled for glaring.  
As they walked the halls after breakfast they came across Lee in his spandex clad figure. He was sobbing like no tomorrow and when Kiba pushed Naruto forward it was clear he was fighting this battle alone.

Cautiously Naruto walked up to Lee and put his arms around his thin frame. "There there Lee, just tell me what happened. Just let it flow on out."  
The gate that had been holding Lee together broke, and a blubbered mess of,"she rejected me" and "my love", were telltale signs of what happened.

"Lee, did you approach the girl with pink hair even though I advised you against it?" Lee looked up, the tears clear in his dark eyes.

"I just couldn't resist. Beauty like that must be revered and cherished by all." Lee was helpless, so desperately in love he could not see the truth that was visible to all with ears and eyes.

"She is just a power hungry daughter of a merchant thinking she'll have not only the prince, but the emperor eating out of her hand. At the same time." Naruto decided sugar coating this one was not going to cut it, if Lee could not see the truth he would make sure he rubbed salt in the wound.

"We're busy today anyway Lee. You have three pieces of merchandise to gained. And those three prices of merch have duties of there own to take care of. You should go with Kiba, lord knows he needs it the most." Kiba looked slightly hurt while Gaara shrugged and looked away.

Taking a step back from the poor man on the floor, Naruto saluted to his companions before setting off to find Haku, the boy from the day before. Going down a small corridor from the dining hall he realized he was going against the concentration gradient of people. Deciding that Haku would most definitely be far away from the influx of people, he pushed his way through the crowd.  
Finally getting past the overly dressed "seducers", Naruto saw a bright light at the end of this hallway. He came to a halt at a door with an awning allowing sunlight to pass into the castle. Trying the door, he pushed it open and was met with a cool breeze and warm sunlight. The courtyard was large with flowers hanging and bushes present all around. A lone bench was sat in the middle of the courtyard partially calling his name. The marble was cool under the thick wool he was required to wear as a possible consort. Shutting his eyes he let the warmth envelop his face.  
The door opened to his left. His eyes snapped open to see a tall figure with dark eyes looking back at him.

"Are you sure someone of your status has the requirements to be out here?" Naruto blushed, the color traveling from his ears passed down his neck. "I was unaware that you required a status level to enter this courtyard, sire."

"I'm sure. Tell me your name then, it's the least you can do to appease me." The man has a slight smirk on his face.

"Naruto, sire." Barron Igarashi Sai turned with a flourish of his cloak.

"Follow me; Naruto. We have much to discuss, I'd like to know how you are faring so far." He then strode out gracefully waiting for Naruto to follow.


End file.
